Cruiser Motorcycles

Triumph announced six models returning for the 2027 model year with new color options. The returning models include the Tiger Sport 800, Speed 400, Scrambler 400 X, Speed Triple 1200 RS, Rocket 3 Storm GT, and Rocket 3 Storm R. Expect to see them arriving in showrooms in August.

Harley-Davidson announced plans to move production of its Revolution Max models back to its facilities in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, including machining, powertrain assembly, painting and final assembly. The transition is expected to be completed sometime in 2027, impacting model years 2028 and beyond.

Pirelli didn’t specify the popularity of MotoAmerica’s Mission King Of The Baggers Championship, or the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup, but something compelled the Italian tire manufacturer to engineer a new performance tire for the cruiser crowd. Enter the Diablo Powercruiser, a tire that, at first glance, reveals its high-performance intentions through a tread pattern more akin to a Diablo Rosso IV sportbike tire than to its cruiser counterpart, the Night Dragon. The large slick area between the edge of the tire and where the rain grooves end provides a larger contact patch than Pirelli’s own sport-touring tire, the Angel GT.

Harley-Davidson has filed a trademark application for the name “Deadwood” for a potential new model.

Another day, another recall, and in a troubling trend, yet another recall to correct a problem that was supposed to be fixed in a previous recall. We’ve seen this happen recently with the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, and again for the Ducati Panigale V4 and Streetfighter V4, with both manufacturers issuing second recalls for the same problem. The latest example is from Harley-Davidson for the 2021-2026 Sportster S to prevent a problem with upper triple clamps cracking.

Triumph Motorcycle’s global press launch, which took place in Oceanside, California, presented five new motorcycles, and begged one fundamental question: what is at the core of our species’ fascination with motorcycles? This question was not asked directly, but arose naturally as I was able to take each of the 2026 Bonneville models for a spin through the foggy coast and sunny mountains of Southern California, and potentially rediscover some key element that turns people into riders.

American Honda announced its 2026 Rebel line-up, including the Rebel 300 receiving E-Clutch as standard equipment. It joins the returning Rebel 500 and 1100 models, with new color options.

The 2024 Shadow Phantom also gets a new handlebar and handlebar clamp that positions the grips higher and further forward compared to the previous model. The 3.7-gallon fuel capacity remains unchanged, but the tank-mounted instrumentation has been updated.

Indian Motorcycle is preparing to give the Pursuit the Elite treatment, adding a new limited edition version of the PowerPlus-engined tourer for 2023. The Indian Pursuit Elite will join the Challenger Elite and the Chieftain Elite in getting custom paint schemes and finishes and select upgrades.

Five years on from the 2018 launch of its first ever twin-cylinder models to be made in India, since when over 400,000 examples of the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 have been sold around the world, Royal Enfield has now added the first of a much-anticipated series of spinoff models to its range.

We’re just a few days into the new year, and Harley-Davidson has already started shipping 2023 models to dealerships. These are mainly carry-over models, returning for 2023 with new colors, which should prepare dealers ahead of Harley-Davidson’s launch event on Jan. 18.

Harley-Davidson turns 120 next year, which naturally means we’re getting some special Anniversary Edition models. Thanks to new vehicle certification data from Australia, we can confirm that the Heritage Classic 114 and the Fat Boy 114 will be receiving 120th Anniversary Editions.

The Harley-Davidson Nightster is getting a new “S” variant for 2023. The news comes to us via certification documents from Australia that confirm the new model along with two images of the Nightster S.

BMW Motorrad is commemorating its 100th anniversary with the release of Special Heritage editions of the R nineT and R18. BMW will produce 1,923 units of each model, recognizing the debut of the brand’s first motorcycle, the R 32, in September 1923 at the German Motor Show in Berlin.

Royal Enfield announced a new cruiser model featuring the 648cc Parallel-Twin engine that also powers the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. The new Super Meteor 650, and the Super Meteor 650 Grand Tourer variant,

As we reported last month, Honda is introducing a new bagger version of the Rebel 1100. The 2023 Honda Rebel 1100T adds a fork-mounted fairing and color-matched hard panniers. For the U.S., the bagger model will only be offered with DCT, while some markets may offer a manual transmission option.

Twenty-five years ago, every Harley-Davidson review was laced with phrases like “for respectable older folks” and “aimed squarely at Harley’s newest riders: wealthy men over forty”… also, “not a bike for most women or smaller men.” Maybe all that was accurate in 1997, but now that we’re all respectable old gender-neutral weaklings, it’s quaint to look back and wonder how we ever got along with a tiny 1340 cc H-D? Egads man… and when will H-D bring back the Springer front end?

Last Sunday’s outpouring of love for the old Kawasaki Vulcan 800 was so unexpected and heartwarming, why not let’s revisit, for this Church of MO, the equally lovable yet completely forgettable 2002 Suzuki Intruder Volusia 800. Nine out of ten of them are probably still on the road, parked next to an old F-150 under a dusty carport in Palmdale. And the other one’s still on the Suzuki showroom floor, now known as Boulevard C50.

Lighten up. Twenty years ago, MO was a wobbly start-up with no money, and a part-time job for most of us. Which doesn’t explain the brief haphazardness of some of the old content, but may excuse part of it. Do the Japanese even make cruisers anymore? Some of them weren’t so bad, including this 2002 Kawasaki Vulcan 800. I apologize for being so rude to it (probably because I was secretly attracted). Oh look, they DO still make a Vulcan 900; doesn’t look half bad really.

Today a Motorcycle.com photo shoot is at least a half-day affair involving thousands of dollars worth of Canon’s finest gear and millions of pixels. Twenty years ago, it was a 10-minute errand on the way to lunch at the FlatCat on Normandie, with Clavin’s clapped-out Olympus and half a roll of film. And let’s not forget to stock up on Sparks on the way back to the office. I had completely forgotten about the Triumph Bonneville America, but it feels like we liked it.

The Sportster hasn’t been all that sporty for some time now – that is aside from the 2021 Sportster S that the Nightster shares more than a handful of tricks with. It’s been 65 years since Harley-Davidson introduced the Sportster as America’s answer to the British invasion of bikes that had begun to increase in popularity Stateside around that time. Back then, folks used their motorcycles for everything – drags, trials, enduros, scrambles, hare and hounds, road runs, and Sunday cruising. You could do it all on a Harley according to the 1958 ad for the Sportster CH and C models below. The market wasn’t so segmented.

The US motojournalist/influencer corps doesn’t look much at all like the people in the ads for Indian’s new Scout Rogue and Rogue Sixty. Carey Hart did meet us for lunch in Ojai during our ride, and he’d fit right in. The former MXer/freestyler not only looks the part, he actually builds custom motorcycles in his own big shop.

After a brief teaser campaign, Harley-Davidson officially revealed the Nightster, a new Sportster model powered by a 975cc version of the liquid-cooled Revolution Max engine. Arriving in dealerships this month, the 2022 Harley-Davidson Sportster is priced at $13,499 for Vivid Black and $13,899 for the Gunship Grey or Redline Red color options.

We are less than a week away from the official reveal of Harley-Davidson‘s next Sportster, but we’ve managed to confirm the new model will use a 975 version of the Revolution Max engine.

Harley-Davidson will announce its next Revolution Max-powered Sportster model on April 12. The Motor Company dropped a short music-themed teaser video titled “Instrument of Expression,” to promote the announcement, and offer a few tantalizing glimpses of the new model.

Bombardier Recreational Products announced Can-Am is returning to the motorcycle business with a new range of electric two-wheelers. A teaser video suggests at least four different models are in the works, with BRP expecting to reveal the full lineup in mid-2024.

Ducati revealed a new limited edition XDiavel produced in conjunction with Italian furniture and interior design house Poltrona Frau. The 2022 Ducati XDiavel Nera will be available in a numbered run of 500 units, priced at US$29,795. That’s a hefty $4,200 premium over the XDiavel S.

What’s going on with the 2022 Indian Scout Rogues is this: blacked-out trim, a quarter fairing, mini ape-hanger handlebars, a “sport-style” seat, and a 19-inch front wheel. We were big fans of the Scout when it got here, enough so that we made it our 2015 Motorcycle of the Year. At the time, we liked the portent Indian had established with a few new bikes in as many years, as well as the Scout being a direct shot across the Sportster’s bow: No doubt the new Sportster competitor was one of the factors that motivated H-D to get off its, ah, laurels.

A quarter-century ago, we all squinted a lot since the world was so lo-res, pixellated and buzzy. Harley’s 883 Sportster was still the best-selling motorcycle in the US – $5,345 with laced spoke wheels – and all the other players badly wanted a piece of that middleweight cruiser action. Only one of them could beat the 883, though, and it wasn’t the Suzuki. Sad. But kinda fun in a dull, processional sort of way.

Last week, Harley-Davidson announced its first batch of 2022 models, listing several models that are returning mostly unchanged, except for new paint and graphic options. A few models were conspicuously absent from the announcement; most of them, like the Iron 1200, were discontinued. The lone exception was the Low Rider S, which we reported would be announced on Jan. 26 with some updates.

Today, Harley-Davidson announced its first batch of 2022 motorcycles, with models already arriving at dealerships across the U.S. These models return mostly unchanged from 2021, save for updated colors and, for some, new wheel designs. If you’re looking for any new models, CVO models, or motorcycles getting more significant changes, you’ll have to wait until Jan. 26, for Harley-Davidson’s “Further, Faster” world premiere event.

VIN information submitted by Indian Motorcycle confirm it is set to add a new Scout Rogue model to its 2022 lineup. The Scout Rogue will be based on the Scout Bobber and will be available with either with the larger 1133cc engine or the 1000cc “Sixty” engine.

Suzuki launched this cruise missile in 2006, right when the US housing market was experiencing a little froth, and every new three-car garage in the land needed a big custom cruiser. Can we get stucco? O how you can  get stucco! A liquid-cooled 1783cc V-twin (109 ci) in a 764-pound package was the recipe, and in 2011 this Limited Edition baby was even badder to the bone. Suzuki will still sell you a brand new one for $15,299. Take it away, Joshua Placa…